One of the speakers on the XXXChurch team ended his own life yesterday, and I don’t know how to handle it. His name is Steve Glisan. You can watch his story by clicking here. I loved Steve, but I never told him so.

I first met Steve at a Porn and Pancakes event in Colorado. Because of the places it took him, his porn addiction resulted in a loss of his wife and three kids. After years apart, he found help and his marriage was restored. That, my friends, is why he spoke for XXXChurch. The story of Steve and Ann Glisan was powerful.

I’m told he recently gave in to temptation and slipped up again… that he decided to handle the guilt by removing himself from this planet. After all the heartache his family went through before, I cannot understand this decision. Surely he had to know this was the worst possible choice? I guess not. Steve, who regularly blogged for XXXChurch under the name Steve G, is gone.

The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization has stated that a record number of people around the world are now going hungry, with numbers reaching a record one billion people, swelled by the global financial crisis.

A question that has often been brought up here amongst the comments is the question of choice. Are homeless people who appear to be homeless by choice less deserving of compassion or assistance than others? If they do indeed choose this lifestyle why should anyone interfere, why should anyone go out of their way or put their hands in their pockets to help them?

Rarely does anyone ever choose to become homeless. I won’t deny the existence of a tiny minority of Robinson Crusoe types that put on their backpacks and drop out of society, favoring a simple lifestyle of woodland living. Some people do this for a relatively short period, more like an extended camping trip but there are very, very few indeed that maintain this lifestyle for a protracted amount of time. Of the remaining ninety-nine percent the reasons for becoming homeless are many and varied but whatever the initial cause of their homelessness and despite all the programs and shelters and missions that are available today some do appear to remain homeless by choice. If you actually ask homeless people why with all the services available do they prefer to stay on the streets, some will even tell you that they choose to be homeless. But do they really? The reality is a lack of suitable alternatives.

The following are some of the main reasons why homeless people choose homelessness over the available services: (continue reading…)

We’re busy going through a series called “Life. Money. Hope.” at LifeChurch.tv by Dave Ramsey. He has a simple (and obvious) principle: “live like no-one else, so that you can live like no-one else”, and his first bit of advice… cut up your credit card.

A lot of people seem to think this is a really good idea… I think it’s absolute madness. I don’t mean to insult those people, or Dave, I just can’t imagine NOT having a credit card. I mean, what if I was stranded in Mexico with no money on me… no problem, Credit Card to the rescue (accepted where ever the “Master Card” or “Visa” logos are displayed). I’m not sure how I might find myself stranded in Mexico, BUT YOU NEVER KNOW! And they say cut it up – yeah right, don’t they know we’re best friends.(continue reading…)

XXXchurch just posted a picture of their “Strip Shuttle” – I think these guys ROCK, who else do you see doing stuff like this:

They recently moved to Las Vegas (aka “Sin City”), and have this van/bus that they’re using to shuttle people around for an opportunity to share the gospel with them. Did I mention how much I think these guys rock? ;) Totally awesome…

I’m married, and if you are too, then statistically speaking, one of us is going to get a divorce.

I’m not writing that to be sensational, but I just want to be clear that it’s a big deal. And I don’t know if we Christians do a very good job of treating it as such.

Look at it this way: if one out of every two neighbors on your street got mauled by a bear, would you be more careful about bears? Would you buy books on how to keep your house safe from bears? Would you carry a gun and bear spray if there were in fact such a thing as bear spray? Probably. Yet, when it comes to divorce, we don’t do many equivalent things. And the ratios are equally as high as that bear scenario.

I’m (also) reading a book called “Fed Up”, by Tim McLaughlin, about the suffering in the world and what the Christian response (and actions?) to it should be. I think it’s aimed more towards teens, and rather than just listing the things we’re supposed to do each chapter ends with a series of questions to help guide you in coming to your own answers. Here’s some of the things that’ve stood out for me so far:

It’s not like God requires a whole lot from us

[Micah 6:6-8]

Look again at what the prophet Micah wrote that God DOESN’T want.

If we’re not demonstrating our love for other people, God doesn’t want our worship. Now there’s a lot of talk, reaching, and preaching about having your heart right with God before any kind of true worship can occur. Okay, but that’s only HALF the truth. The other half is this: Unless your behavior toward other people is merciful, no amount of worship you aim at God scores with him. Even following the righteous example ofa patriarch like Abraham, who was willing to butcher his own son if God asked him to, doesn’t score with God.
(page 8)

I’m busy reading a book called “6 rules every man must break”, by Bill Perkins – which “challenges you to follow Jesus’ example: Refuse to be handcuffed by rules that aren’t God-given”. I’m only up to chapter 3 so far, but really enjoing it. I thought I’d share some things that stood out for me so far:

The Rule of Abstinence
Some Christians argue that because alcohol is so easily abused, a godly Christian would never drink it. But if you follow that line of logic, you’ll also conclude that since sex is so easily abused by so many peaopl, a godly Christian would also abstain from all sexual activity. Or since money can so easily corrupt, a godly Christian will stay poor, or become poor if he’s rich. Yet nobody would say that about sex or money. God intended money, sex and alcohol to be blessings to man. And they are a source of blessing when used within the boundry of his moral law.
(page 31)